| SeaWorld San Antonio | |
|---|---|
| Location | San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Website | SeaWorld San Antonio |
| Owner | SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment |
| Opened | 1988 |
| Previous names | SeaWorld of Texas |
| Operating season | February to January |
| Area | 250 acres (100 ha) |
| Rides | 12 total
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| Slogan | "See the Shamu." |
SeaWorld San Antonio is a 250-acre (100 ha) marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group, and the world's largest marine-life theme park. It is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA)[1] and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).[2]
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SeaWorld San Antonio (formerly SeaWorld of Texas) was developed by Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich (now Harcourt Trade Publishers). Built for $170 million, it opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1988 and welcomed 75,000 people during the grand opening.[3] It had 3.3 million visitors in its first 12 months of operation, placing it among the Top 10 attractions in Texas. At the time of the park's debut, it was billed as "the largest educational, marine-life theme park in the world."
In 1989, Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich (heavy in debt and fighting a hostile takeover) sold its SeaWorld and Boardwalk and Baseball theme parks to Anheuser-Busch, Inc.[4] Plans to build a Boardwalk and Baseball park adjacent to SeaWorld of Texas were immediately abandoned.
On 26 November 1988, Kayla (stage named "Baby Shamu") was the first killer whale born at SeaWorld San Antonio.
Under Anheuser-Busch ownership, SeaWorld San Antonio closed less popular attractions such as the Texas Walk, the U.S. Map Plaza, and the Garden of Flags and added its popular Clydsedales to the park.
On June 12, 2008, InBev announced that it made a US $46 billion offer for the brewing firm Anheuser-Busch. This merger joined two of the world's four largest brewing companies (based on revenue) and created a company that brews three of the top beers in the world - Bud Light, Budweiser and Skol. InBev also stated that the merger would not result in any U.S. brewery closures and they would also attempt to keep on management and board members from both companies. Soon after, the newly merged company sold the SeaWorld parks to The Blackstone Group.
On April 14, 2011, an article was posted on SeaWorld's blog announcing that the Texas Splashdown will be closing permanently on May 13, 2011. [5]
"After 20 years of chills and thrills at SeaWorld San Antonio, the log flume ride, Texas Splashdown, will make its final splash on Friday, May 13. The ride has been enjoyed for more than two decades, and SeaWorld is inviting guests to experience it one last time before the ride closes. Added in spring 1991 as one of the nation’s largest water flume rides, Texas Splashdown became the park’s first thrill ride. This towering log flume ride is located between Steel Eel and Great White. Four-passenger boats transport guests through a twisting, turning half-mile route that includes two exciting plunges from as high as six stories at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. “Since Texas Splashdown debuted more than 20 years ago, it has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of SeaWorld guests,” said Dan Decker, SeaWorld San Antonio’s park president. “The ride has had a great run of service.” While we are not making any immediate announcements for a replacement attraction, its closing allows the park to plan for new entertainment experiences, whether it’s a ride, show, animal encounter or other attraction. SeaWorld is constantly changing to offer guests new experiences and new reasons to visit. Last year we closed Shamu’s Happy Harbor and reopened the area this spring with the new Sesame Street Bay of Play. In June, SeaWorld will debut a new Shamu show, “One Ocean,” which replaces the popular “Believe” show that enjoyed a five-year run. So don't miss your chance to come ride Texas Splashdown one more time! (Okay, you can ride it a couple more times.)"
Formerly Shamu's Happy Harbor, Sesame Street's Bay of Play (opened in March 2011) is an interactive children play area based on the long running television series "Sesame Street". Shamu Express kiddie coaster remains the only unchanged attraction from the old Happy Harbor.
Rides:
Activities:
Shows:
SeaWorld's main attraction is its killer whales, which are housed in 7-million-gallon habitats that are each known as Shamu Theater. Shamu was the name of the first killer whale brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s. 'Shamu' is now used as a stage name for adult killer whales in performances at SeaWorld parks. The killer whales all have real names.
The killer whales at San Antonio are Takara, Sakari (Takara's calf),[6] Kyuquot, Keet, Unna, and Tuar.
The bottlenose Dolphins at San Antonio are Ansley, Alice, Brady, Brie, Cisco, Donley, Fathom, Gilly, Hacksaw, Kai, Mattie, Nacha, Neelee, Nikki, Notchfin, Nueces, Osbourne, Ping, Puka, Punta, Scotia, and Yoyo.
The belugas at San Antonio are Natasha, Crissy, Bella, Martha, Oliver, Sikuu, Luna, Atla, and the most recent, Imaq
On April 17th, Imaq, the adult male beluga from Vancouver Aquarium, secretly arrived to Sea World San Antonio on a 5-year breeding loan. This is the 3rd of three beluga whales on a breeding loan from Vancouver Aquarium to SeaWorld: Nanuq, Allua, Imaq.
Luna gave birth to a healthy female beluga calf on June 23rd, 2010. Sea World San Antonio had a naming contest to name Bella, and Luna's calf has been named Atla, which means "unique" in the Inuit language of Inuktitut.
In 2009, Nico, Maris, and Natasha from the Georgia Aquarium were moved to SeaWorld temporarily to keep them away from the worst of the noise during construction at the Georgia Aquarium.[7] Nico died on 31 October 2009. A preliminary necropsy was unable to determine if Nico's death was caused by the move or by something else.[8] On 3 March 2010, Maris and a new male, Beethoven, were returned to the Georgia Aquarium while Natasha was paired with a potential mate and remained in San Antonio.[9]
Lost Lagoon is a water park that was added to SeaWorld in 1993. It's open March through September. Lost Lagoon is closing from September 5, 2011 - May 30, 2012 to be replaced by Aquatica Texas. A separate gated water park based on the original Aquatica Orlando that opened on March 1, 2008. Some of popular water attractions like The Sidewinders tower (with 4 tube slides and 2 large bowl slides) will be re-themed, painted and renamed to Tassie's Twister. The splash attack play structure will be staying but it will be renovated with new theming, new slides, new interactive elements, new landscaping, and new zero-entry pool and will be named Walkabout Waters. The Activity pool will stay but will also be renovated with new theming, new interactive elements, new pool updates, new landscaping, new beach lounge chairs, inviting waterfalls and a renaming. Those 4 existing water attractions will be kept during the Aqautica Texas re-theming. The new expansion is scheduled to be open by Memorial Day weekend May 2012.
Summer Nights offers entertainment during the night hours. Shows offered include the following: Shamu Rocks Texas -- Not only just Shamu, but also today's hit music during the show similar to the Believe show; Sea Lions Tonight -- Where guests join these pranksters' spoof about the day's shows; R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse 4D -- A 4-D movie that takes place in Sea Star Theater; and Pirates Plunder -- Where guests will join the ship's captain and his crew as the captain battles for his bride and ship against his nemesis, Captain Le Foe, in a play-like setting in Nautilus Amphitheater.
Howl-O-Scream is an annual Halloween event that takes place at SeaWorld San Antonio. This year's event features the character Jack the Pumpkin King as the main icon, who is also featured at the event in Busch Gardens.[10]
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